Pickaxe tool damage value

[Luke Bunyip]

Unless Greenneck pipes up and states something other than the following...

Tis basically a pick, as per pg271 in GURPS Characters, but with a horizontal axe like blade ( aka a large flattened adze) on the front. Should give the cutting damage of a twohanded axe, but the imp damage of a pick, as well as the later's unreadiness status when swung.

Post script. Greenneck has just pointed out to me that the pick entry on pg271 is onehanded. I am going with a Warhammer with a Great Axe combo.

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Unless Greenneck pipes up and states something other than the following...

Tis basically a pick, as per pg271 in GURPS Characters, but with a horizontal axe like blade ( aka a large flattened adze) on the front. Should give the cutting damage of a twohanded axe, but the imp damage of a pick, as well as the later's unreadiness status when swung.

Post script. Greenneck has just pointed out to me that the pick entry on pg271 is onehanded. I am going with a Warhammer with a Great Axe combo.

For making the weapon's complete stats (weight, ST, etc), you might want to consider taking a look at the Combination Weapons guidelines in Martial Arts. I think adding a pick is covered there.

Marking the adze/mattock head as an axe is probably the way to go, statwise. I think the only real difference between the two is the kinds of jobs they can be used for as a tool - an axe is good for chopping down trees, a mattock is good for loosening dirt and cutting through roots. I'd expect the mattock head to be a bit duller, however - maybe a -1 to cutting damage (at least until the character sharpens it to axe standards). I remember using a two-handed cutting mattock (axe head on one side, mattock head on the other) when I was helping my dad with a house he was fixing up. I remember the axe head was kept a good deal sharper than the mattock head, as the latter was used to move through dirt and cut roots (although there was one particularly thick root that I ended up using the axe head on).

[Anthony]

It would be a lot harder to chop off limbs with the adze blade than with an axe blade, due to it being prone to strike so the cut will go lengthwise on the limb. It would also have a problem of getting stuck, much like a pick. Finally, many pickaxes have relatively long and thin picks and would be poorly suited to weapons (due to being prone to break), though you could find one that's as solid as a military pick (anything intended mostly for breaking up stone, rather than breaking up dirt).

[Cid SilverWing]

By pickaxe I'm assuming you're referring to this. Treat it as an Axe, swinging pierce/thrust damage, with Crushing for hitting with the blunt sides.

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by Cid SilverWing

By pickaxe I'm assuming you're referring to this. Treat it as an Axe, swinging pierce/thrust damage, with Crushing for hitting with the blunt sides.

A pickaxe doesn't really have a blunt side. The part closest to the camera in that picture is what we've been referring to as the adze/mattock, and is functionally basically a sideways axe blade.

[DanHoward]

There is no way that a mattock has a sharp enough edge to do cutting damage. Treat it as an axe that does crushing damage only.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

There is no way that a mattock has a sharp enough edge to do cutting damage. Treat it as an axe that does crushing damage only.

Ta muchly Dan. The nearest I have come to modeling the damage from one of these beasties in real life is hitting myself in the foot, whilst wearing steel capped boots.

Tis it fair to treat it as a two handed Great Axe, but changing the damage to crushing?

Still give it a reach of 1/2* ?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

There is no way that a mattock has a sharp enough edge to do cutting damage.

It does if you sharpen it. Most wood axes aren't terribly sharp either.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Cid SilverWing

By pickaxe I'm assuming you're referring to this. Treat it as an Axe, swinging pierce/thrust damage, with Crushing for hitting with the blunt sides.

Yep, but Greenneck is offering this as his reference image.